New (Weird) Yashica Camera

[Lightmancer]

Twenty quid Bill? Are you going for ultra high res scans or something?

Exactly that. 8-12mp depending. I use 400CN or XP2 so there is no colour information. I don't bother with prints; anything good I'll print from the scan, anything really good I'll rescan myself. It's a local shop - they come through as really nice, clean scans.

 

[Richard]

...The one test to perform is to cock the shutter, then try to release it with your hand (or a lens cap) over the lens. If the thing fires, avoid, because it means that the light meter is shot.

My first camera was an Olympus Trip 35, which I inherited from my father when he bought a 35-RD. I'm not sure what happened to the Trip but we still have the RD. I liked most things about the Trip, but if you tried to take a picture with insufficient light, a red plastic finger would poke up inside the viewfinder to tell you to ... well, it told you.

-R

 

[gryphon1911]

If you do, drop me a line. Mine came from a charity shop. The one test to perform is to cock the shutter, then try to release it with your hand (or a lens cap) over the lens. If the thing fires, avoid, because it means that the light meter is shot. Best to look for one that is lens-capped or boxed/cased because those old meters degrade through exposure to light over time.

I can tell you where I got the seal kit and the skins, and what - and what not! - to take apart, clean and tighten. It doesn't show in that photo but mine's a fetching shade of dark blue now. I've also fitted a cheapo chrome finish thumbrest and a step-up ring to get to a sensible filter size.

I was in London a couple of weeks ago and saw a couple in shops - in standard, unfettled condition, with swing-ticket prices of £145 - £150. Depressingly, there are those who will pay...

Will do. Thanks for the tips as well. I might also try and find a Yashica Electro 35 as well. I already have a Yashica Lynx 5000E that I love to use, so thought it might like a few siblings to keep it company.
Here it is in it's "never ready case".

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[NoSeconds]

Here's a cool little camera I could get behind...

Raspberry Pi Zero W NoIR Camera Pack - Includes Pi Zero W ID: 3415 - $44.95 : Adafruit Industries, Unique & fun DIY electronics and kits

 

[Covey22]

I already have a camera that can do all of that - I can set the ISO, shoot B&W or Color and if needed Square Format - all SOOC.

If I really wanted to, I could force myself to 36 or so frames by finding a really small capacity SD card.

The only self controls you need is to not mess with the settings until your "roll" is done - close enough to emulsion days, and if you wanted, upload to your PC, do your Post-Process, but wait three days to publish, to simulate the "good" developing. Or shoot JPG only, wait an hour and only use resizing for your preferred publishing, to simulate the Drug Store experience (pre CD scans).

Or you can just forget this foolishness and keep shooting using the latest technology you have and stop artificially hobbling your craft. I have enough problems to solve without going back to the bad old days.

 

[gryphon1911]

Honestly, I think what the market is missing and why a lot of people clamor to these types of cameras is the lack of a budget friendly true manual focus rangefinder. I really like using the rangefinder style cameras and don't mind manual focusing....but Leica is way out of my budget in both body and lenses. I do enjoy running roll of film every now and again, but getting the film developed is just meh for me anymore.

So when something like this gets close, people get excited.

I believe that if someone out there built a Yashica Electro 35 with even an APS-C sensor...fixed 40 or 45mm f/1.8 lens with true rangefinder focusing and a rudimentary spot metering system - priced it between $1000 and $1500 - they would sell like craziness. Fuji got darn close, but they tend to be quirky and the focus by wire system does not have that feel.

Technology has gotten to the point that most cameras can deliver on excellent IQ, even with kit lenses. I think that a lot of people are looking for that great experience. I know that I do appreciate the the feel of the old rangefinder cameras and the old manual focus lenses. That is something that has just never been replicated with modern lenses. They sacrifice the usefulness of the manual focus for the convenience of the AF system.
Not saying they shouldn't....I'm just saying that there is a niche out there that can be exploited, but someone just needs to get it right. This latest Yashica Y35 I think goes a ways in validating my theory. I could be way off and won't be the first time I was...but since we are speculating...why not throw some "out there", out there.

 

[john m flores]

I shall say this once.

We are not the target demographic.

Not even close.

But I have a pair of skinny jeans!

 

[drd1135]

But I have a pair of skinny jeans!

We need pics!

 

[Luke]

We need pics!

Ummm.....no, I don't. John, you can pm Steve those pics he wants.

 

[Jock Elliott]

I increasingly find myself in the old fuddy-duddy camp. But not here. I have no time for film, but I'm all for new digital experieces that may borrow some aspect of shooting film.

Now can someone make a digital camera that replicates the process (and results) of daguerrotype photography without the hassle and expense of chemicals and glass plates?

The transition from film to digital was a revelation to me. When I shot film to illustrate my stories, the workflow was: shot film, take it to Walmart for 1-hour processing, wait for it and buy stuff I didn't need, see where I made mistakes, shot film to fix the mistakes, 1-hour again, submit prints to magazine. With digital, shot images, see mistakes instantly, re-shoot, submit.

I shot more awful crap when I shot film, but now, with digital, I shoot enough to be able to "self-edit" as I go along. Further, digital encourages me to experiment, which I do often. My problem isn't that I need a new camera, what I need is to know how to correctly use the cameras I already own. I can't see going back to learning how to shoot at a buck a frame (film) when I can essentially do it for free with digital.

I'll close with an anecdote that I read decades ago in Editor & Publisher, a trade publication for the newspaper business. The writer was describing a workshop he attended for photojournalists. The folks showed up with their Anvil cases full of Nikons and Hasselblads. The guy running the workshop handed out Kodak Instamatics and said, "Now go shoot with these." The writer reported that all the workshop participants learned a lot as a result of the experience.

Cheers, Jock

 

[Jock Elliott]

Allen Murabayashi inserts the knife, then twists: The Yashica digiFilm Y35 exemplifies everything wrong with retro styling

Cheers, Jock

 

[tonyturley]

Ouch . . .

 

[Petach]

A friend of mine at Brentwood Camera Club in Essex is in his eighties. He shoots only film and has more cameras than Imelda Marcos had shoes. Rollei's, Has'blads, Nikons, and most Eastern European makes to name but a few. Much to the disgust of his wife, the bathroom serves as his developing room. He only EVER uses out of date film, some out of date by 10, 15 or even 20 years......and even some of it is old speed camera film. He knows EXACTLY how much processing leeway he needs to give for each film to take account of its age. What he doesn't know about cameras and photography is just not worth knowing. The man is a flaming genius alchemist. He will never give in.

He gave a talk to the club recently and had a number of cameras with him. He picked each one up and said "such and such gave me this 20 years ago.....he's dead now" or "Such and such gave me this beauty 10 years ago....he's dead now". I have an old Olympus OM that I never use and I am too petrified to give it to him.

 

[Covey22]

Dead man's camera. My mentor has a Rolleiflex that is exactly that. He will not sell it or donate it for fear of what might happen next.